NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones are defending the response to the ice storm that hit North Texas, saying that the local authorities did what they could to deal with the frigid conditions and frozen roads.
Asked if the response to the weather would affect Dallas’s chances for hosting future Super Bowls, Goodell said: “I don’t believe so. This isn’t the only part of the country being affecting by this weather. This community has responded favorably and we’re excited to be here.”
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone here in Dallas who agrees with Goodell that the community has responded favorably. The streets and sidewalks here remain like skating rinks, two days after the storm passed. That’s not favorable.
And it’s also hard to accept Jones’ comment that, “‘I’ve seen a lot of salt, lot of sand out there.” The salt and sand has not been sufficient to keep people and vehicles from slipping.
It’s important to stress that this is not a complaint about the weather. I live in Chicago. I can deal with cold weather. But if you’re a city that gets cold weather and you want to host the Super Bowl, you need to make sure you’re keeping the thousands of visitors safe when they’re on the streets. Dallas hasn’t done that.